Apple's release of its next version of the Macintosh operating system hits stores this weekend, and it's interesting to reflect on the very different software path Apple seems to be on, compared with Microsoft. Apple is apparently moving more incrementally and with a greater focus on the typical home consumer.

This latest update, Macintosh OS X 10.2 (a.k.a. Jaguar), is touted by Apple as a major new release with 150 new features. I've been using the OS a bit in the past week, and there is a lot to look at and a lot to like. But let's not get carried awaythis is a point release with a bunch of nice enhancements that pretty much leave the underlying operating system unchanged. Most of the improvements are actually in a number of applications that come with the system.

Perhaps most important improvement is the brand-new mail client, creatively named Mail. This seems like a good client for handling your POP or IMAP mail accounts. Particularly nice is a new junk-mail filter which uses "latent semantic analysis" to screen out offending messages, initially turning them brown on the screen. I'd say Mail is designed to give Eudora and Microsoft Entourage a run for their money; and it seems more central to the OS than Windows' built-in Outlook Express e-mail client.

One nice new feature that works with Mail is a systemwide address book, which also integrates with iChat, Apple's new instant messaging client, and is expected to be integrated with iCal, an upcoming calendaring program. The concept of a single address book that all your applications can use is a good onebut the question is whether third-party applications will really use it. (Ask yourself how many applications use the Windows Address Book, which has been part of that OS for years.)

Perhaps the best thing about iChat is that you can use it with .Mac, Apple's Web services offering, or with an existing AOL instant messaging account. Seeing Apple working with an existing service rather than trying to create yet another IM client is good; though, of course, I still would rather all the IM folks would get together so we could have one client that would work consistently. iChat itself seems to offer a bit less control than the AIM client, but not surprisingly, more integration with the rest of the OS X system.

One of the best applications is Sherlock 3, a revamped front-end for a bunch of Internet information services such as directories, mapping services, movie schedules, restaurant reviews, and so forth. It's very cool. And Apple continues to include a bunch of well-known applications such as the iTunes music playing software (which now adds things like Sound Check, which evens out the volume of your various sound files, and smart play lists); iPhoto, the well-designed photo management application; and QuickTime 6.

One of the best features is Rendezvous, which is designed to let multiple devices quickly and easily talk with one another in a peer-to-peer network. Setting up such networks is a difficult task, currently. This looks easier, but Rendezvous is dependent on lots of clients and devices such as printers adding Rendezvous support. Right now Rendezvous is really useful only if you have multiple Apple portables with the new OS and wireless networking through AirPort, Apples' Wi-Fi (or 802.11b). Nevertheless, the concept is a good one.

For folks on Windows networks, the best thing may be that Apple's OS now supports Active Directory and can browse a Windows network far more easily than before. And the OS includes a basic VPN client with PPTP support, so you can dial into the network.
Not in the version I used, but expected to be released this fall and available for download are two rather important applications that Apple has been touting as if they were part of Jaguar: the aforementioned iCal, a calendaring program that lets you manage multiple calendars and publish and subscribe to calendars via the Internet, and iSync, which lets you sync your calendar and the address book with mobile phones, Palm devices, and the iPod.
With things we would consider central to the OS, the biggest changes include graphicsApple says they are faster (I can't say I noticed a big change, but I haven't been running applications that are particularly graphics-intensive)as well as more accessibility features; a new search bar in the Finder so you can easily search through all of your folders; and "spring-loaded" folders, a neat little UI enhancement.

All in all, there are a lot of good features here, though many Mac users will wonder if the upgrade is worth $129 (although Apple's $199 home license for up to 5 computers is a good innovationMicrosoft, are you listening?) because the OS itself isn't very different.

Related

Of course, most people get their operating systems with new machines, so this OS update really affects the experiences of new Macintosh users more than existing ones. And the update shows where Apple is going. While Microsoft certainly focuses a lot on the consumer experience, the big Windows push these days seems to be more toward building a good platform for third-party developers and corporate applications. On the other hand, while it has taken steps to make the Mac work better in corporate networks, Apple's primary concern appears to be making an integrated experience based on the company's own built-in consumer applications.

Apple has both the opportunity to create a more integrated experience, because it makes PCs and operating systems; and the requirement to do so, in part because the Mac is a smaller platform than Windows, so it doesn't have as many third-party programs. OS X is clearly on an integrated path, and based on Jaguar, Apple seems to be doing a good job of making that work.

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